RPK Medical & RPK Group join a transformative project to advance personalized nanomedicine

On March 30, the Smart Hydrogels for Personalized Nanomedicine project was presented at i+Med. This is the third industrial-based transformative project under the Euskadi Industry Plan 2030, with an initial investment of €72 million over three years.

RPK Medical and RPK Group are proud to join this ambitious project, led by i+Med. Alongside VIVEbiotech, 10 firms, the Basque Health Cluster, and 9 technology centers, we aim to industrialize smart hydrogels for biohealth using pharmaceutical, biologic, and gene-based components.

This project not only drives scientific progress but also builds a strong biopharmaceutical network in the Basque Country, making the region a European leader in personalized nanomedicine. It marks an important industrial shift uniting research, manufacturing, and healthcare innovation.

We expect a major impact in 2026–2028. The project will direct over €28 million exclusively to technological R&D. It will create 602 new jobs, including 232 direct, highly qualified roles. Simultaneously, it will strengthen the biohealth sector, comprising nearly 300 companies in the Basque Country, whose revenue has grown by 187% over the past decade.

During the presentation, i+Med CEO Manu Muñoz underscored the initiative's strategic relevance to both science and the region. We share that vision. We believe stronger collaboration between industrial companies, technology partners, and health innovation stakeholders will determine the future of healthcare.

For RPK Group, this project strongly aligns with our strategic goal of diversifying into the biomedical sector, leveraging our advanced components division for medical devices. Through our input, we address technical challenges in scalable biomedical manufacturing, drawing on extensive automotive-sector experience to drive innovation in medical component engineering. As Eduardo Melón, CEO of RPK Group, explained during the event, our unique cooperative model and global reach position us to deliver specialized solutions and expand opportunities in biomedical applications.

This project showcases our core value: collaboration. When companies, institutions, and technology leaders unite, we create stronger synergies and better use the Basque Country’s advanced industrial capabilities.